Ian Wheeler

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Jazz clarinettist and saxophonist whose distinctive New Orleans sound was a mainstay of the bands of Chris Barber and Ken Colyer

The traditional jazz revival of the 1950s and 1960s was mainly about
re-creating earlier styles of music with a degree of authenticity. Some
bands slavishly copied the 1920s records of Louis Armstrong, King Oliver and
Jelly Roll Morton. Others took a more relaxed approach, attempting to create
something new and distinctive within the overall style. In his work as a
clarinettist, first with Ken Colyer and then with Chris Barber, Ian Wheeler
managed to develop an immediately recognisable personal style, yet without
compromising the New Orleans flavour of his sound. When he toured alongside
the veteran clarinettist Edmond Hall, a